‘Oh, that’s it’: The 20 minutes Gabby Williams became a Bay Area sports hero

The Bay Area has a new sports love affair.

It all started with a dream, a passionate and fiery city and a hand-picked group of fierce fighters. And somewhere – very early – along the way, this region fell in love with its Valkyries. Warm and fuzzy feelings are everywhere.

The story is far from over – it’s only just beginning – but Gabby Williams has written an indelible ending to her first chapter.

On drives from his home in Oakland to the Chase Center in Mission Bay, Williams spots a Valkyries-branded Waymo, Golden State billboards lining the highway and pops of lavender on every corner. This does not go unnoticed.

And on the way to the biggest game of her WNBA career, these flashes remained etched in her memory: “It’s THE moment,” Williams said. “This is my time to give my all for this community.”

Williams had entered the Valkyries locker room at halftime, her team trailing by six points with 20 minutes remaining in what had been both the longest and fastest season of her life. She was calm — you wouldn’t have believed her team had only managed 24 points at halftime — as she told her teammates she was about to take off.

The green light flashed for her. Give it to Gabby-and-go, WNBA Finals Basketball Game 7.

And what an incredible and unforgettable spectacle.

“Once I saw her hit one, I said, ‘Oh, that’s it,'” said forward Kayla Thornton, smiling with glasses still attached to her head more than an hour after the final buzzer.

Williams made 19 of the Valkyries’ 34 shots in the second half. She set a WNBA playoff record for points in a half, scoring 28 of her 30 in the final 20 minutes. And she powered Golden State to a 68-63 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Saturday to capture the franchise’s first championship in front of 18,064 screaming fans.

Her takeover began when Thornton stole the ball and pushed it forward in transition to point guard Veronica Burton, who slowed down and passed it to Williams. She went straight to the hole for a layup with 4:17 left in the third quarter.

Seventy seconds later, the barrage continued. Williams made the first of three 3-pointers, all in less than a minute. Then she walked toward the lane, turned around and drilled a 10-foot jumper. The Valkyries led 45-44 and the game was still in the balance, but every play of this ongoing Williams masterpiece left her teammates in awe.

With 11 more points in the fourth quarter and several key defensive stops, Williams’ takeover – and the Valkyries’ rise – was complete.

Coach Natalie Nakase was already well into celebrating on the podium, her championship hat backwards and a Michelob Ultra within arm’s reach, when her eyes crossed and widened at the score in front of her.

“You had 30? A 30 piece?” she said laughing, turning to Williams on her right, her voice rising in surprise.

“Dude, where have you been?” Center Kiah Stokes fought back.

Williams received the WNBA Finals MVP trophy as a thunderous, lavender-clad arena roared, teammates embraced, “We are the champions” blared and golden confetti blew in every direction. The Valkyries didn’t have an All-WNBA talent — at least not one officially honored — but with Williams’ heroics, Golden State and its fans witnessed an unprecedented moment at the height.

This is a team that refused to be defined by expectations — ESPN had the Valkyries ranked 10th in its Week 1 power rankings and Nakase kept that issue documented in his phone’s Notes app. And Williams is a player who refused to let expectations define him. All she wanted was an ounce of confidence from a WNBA organization. Although she had built a storied career in France and the EuroLeague, she hadn’t found it in the previous seven WNBA seasons after UConn.

Williams, crowned champion on Halloween night, is no longer a player who has finally had her moment. She’s a star, and without a doubt, the star of the Bay Area.

“Gabby is our closer. She stayed patient. She stayed with it. Closing out with 30 – I mean, it’s fucking incredible. It’s incredible,” Nakase said with Williams sitting right next to her.

“For me, the MVP East the MVP of the final. That means you have to play in the playoffs, you have to work hard. You have to go through a series of seven games. She is undoubtedly the most valuable player in the world.

Williams is the player the Bay Area is rallying around. His name rang out in the arena on Saturday, like every summer weeknight. She came into a second-year franchise and said that’s where she could win. Then she became the reason why she could believe in the extraordinary and make the unprecedented possible.

Still drenched from the beer spray in the locker room, Williams thought of her younger self. The one who would have done anything to see a professional women’s basketball team own the Bay Area like that. If she could tell Little Gabby one thing, it would be how far love can take you.

“That’s what motivated me tonight. That’s what motivated me all season,” Williams said. “I walked into a group full of love, and it changed the trajectory of my entire career. I think little Gabby would love to hear that she’s surrounded by love.”